Sliding elements are well known and have been used in building construction for many years. For example, a patio or porch may have a sliding door separating the outdoor from the indoor. Such doors typically have a frames fabricated from a metal profiles and inlaid with either glass, an opaque panel or an insect screen. Another example of a sliding element is a wall panel which can be mobilised in a sliding manner so as to divide a room into smaller areas.
A sliding element is typically mounted on wheels or rollers which are dimensioned to roll within a guide track or may be grooved to roll on a rail. In some circumstances, each sliding element has two or more wheels which are mounted in a housing of some description. The housing (with wheels) is received in a cavity present in a lower edge of the sliding element such that the element is supported by, and rollable upon, the wheels.
It has been recognised in the prior art that adjustment means are often necessary so as to allow for the vertical adjustment of the sliding element with reference to the substrate (be it track, rail or floor). For example, it may be necessary to increase the height of the panel above a track such that the lower edge of the panel clears the upper edge of the track so as to allow the wheels to support the weight of the element and roll freely. As another example, where a sliding element has two sets of wheels and the substrate is not even or the panel is not properly vertically aligned it may be necessary to differentially adjust the height of the wheels. The aim of this adjustment is to allow the wheels to roll freely and to also evenly distribute the load across all wheels.
Prior art wheel assemblies having multiple wheels are difficult or impossible to adjust such that load is evenly spread across all wheels, and each wheel is adjusted vertically to a required level. Where load is not evenly spread, a wheel assuming a disproportionally large load may prematurely fail due to the extras forces applied thereto. Where each wheel is not set the appropriate height, the element may not slide smoothly and may impact on a track edge.
It is an aspect of the present invention to overcome or alleviate a problem of the prior art by providing a sliding element wheel assembly which is an improvement over prior art wheel assemblies with respect to the ability or the ease to vertically adjust wheels within the assembly and/or evenly distribute load across all wheels. It is a further aspect to provide an alternative to prior art wheel assemblies.
The discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in this specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters formed part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.